Disposable absorbent articles such as feminine hygiene products, taped diapers, pant-type diapers and incontinence products are designed to absorb fluids from the wearer's body. Users of such disposable absorbent articles have several concerns. Leakage from products like catamenial pads, diapers, sanitary napkins, and incontinence pads is a significant concern. Comfort and the feel of the product against the wearer's body is also a concern. To provide better comfort, current disposable absorbent articles are typically provided with a topsheet that is flexible, soft feeling, and non-irritating to the wearer's skin. The topsheet does not itself hold the discharged fluid. Instead, the topsheet is fluid-permeable to allow the fluids to flow into an absorbent core.
Once the fluids flow into the absorbent core, the fluid may be held in the core by absorbent materials such as airfelt, particles of absorbent gelling material (AGM), and/or foaming absorbent material (FAM). In absorbent articles that include AGM, it may be important to contain the particles of AGM within the core so that the particles do not migrate to other parts of the absorbent article and/or outside of the absorbent article. It may also be important to maintain user comfort during and/or after the absorbent core has swelled from absorption of an amount of fluid.
To help ensure that fluids flow into the absorbent core, some disposable absorbent articles are further constructed with what is sometimes referred to as a secondary topsheet (STS) directly beneath the topsheet. This secondary topsheet is designed to acquire the fluid from a liquid-permeable topsheet and distribute it to the underlying absorbent core. Improving the ability of the STS to acquire and distribute liquid will address the user concerns of leakage and body feel, and can improve dryness of the topsheet by dewatering the topsheet. Improving additional characteristics of the STS may address further concerns such as AGM particle migration from the core and user comfort during and/or after the absorbent core has absorbed an amount of fluid. Accordingly, the development of new and improved secondary topsheet materials is of continued interest.